Recreational Cannabis is Now Legal in Minnesota
As of August 1, 2023, possession and home cultivation of cannabis for personal use under certain conditions became legal.
Now in Minnesota, adults age 21 and older may possess up to two ounces of flower, eight grams of concentrate, edible with up to 800 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and two pounds of flowers in private residences (1). Home cultivation cannot exceed eight plants and no more than four of those plants can be mature at a time (1). Limited medical cannabis became legal in 2014; the law for recreational cannabis was signed in May and took effect on August 1st, 2023 (1,2).
Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize cannabis for recreational use (2). “Nearly half of all Americans now reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal,” said Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) (1). “To date, no state has moved to either curtail or repeal these legalization laws. That’s because these policies are working largely as voters and lawmakers intended and they are clearly preferable to criminal marijuana prohibition.”
In addition to legalization, tens of thousands of low-level cannabis records are eligible to be automatically expunged and over 200,000 felony records are qualified to be reviewed by the newly formed Cannabis Expungement Board (2).
A licensing system has not yet been fully established finalized in the state and the Office of Cannabis Management is still being finalized (2). Currently, the only dispensary in the state that is legally selling cannabis products is operated by the Red Lake Nation tribe, which, as a sovereign nation, is not subject to state laws (2). The business opened on August 1st and reportedly had to turn away customers and pause online sales due to high demand (3). State-licensed dispensaries are expected to start operating in 2025 (2).
About 30 business have reportedly applied for permits to be able to label cannabis seeds (2). “We haven't started accepting things for testing,” said Michael Merriman, seed program coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “And in Minnesota, we require things to be labeled with a test that's able to substantiate those labeled claims “That's to protect the consumers of seed in the state.”
The medical cannabis program is expected to continue relatively unchanged (2).
See more recent Minnesota cannabis coverage here: Previous Minnesota Governor Decides to Open Cannabis Brand.
References
- Minnesota: Adult use legalization law takes effect next week https://norml.org/blog/2023/07/26/minnesota-adult-use-legalization-law-takes-effect-next-week/ (accessed Aug 4, 2023).
- Recreational cannabis is now legal in Minnesota. here’s what we know https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/01/recreational-cannabis-is-now-legal-in-minnesota-heres-what-we-know (accessed Aug 4, 2023).
- Jaeger, K. Minnesota’s first marijuana shop sees “overwhelming” sales on legalization’s first day, having to turn away customers and close online orders https://www.marijuanamoment.net/minnesotas-first-marijuana-shop-sees-overwhelming-sales-on-legalizations-first-day-having-to-turn-away-customers-and-close-online-orders/ (accessed Aug 4, 2023).
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